Wrench.



W. B. SMITH.

WRENCH.

- fmzmszc m APPLICATION FILED MAR. 25. 1916. Patented Apr. 10,1917.

near earns PATENT WILLIAM B. SMITH, OF WESLEYVILLE, PENNSYLVANIA.

WRENCH.

Application filed March 25, 1916.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM B. citizen of the United States, residing at Wesleyville, in the county of Erie and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful lm n'ovements in Wrenches; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to a wrench and more particularly to one which is adaptable for operating chute doors to railway freight cars and one of its objects is the provision of a device of this character, which shall be simple; durable and efficient, and which may be manufactured and sold at a comparatively low cost.

Another object of this invention is to provide a handle, having a cylindrical head to rotatably receive a barrel having a squared opening to receive the end of a squared operating shaft or nut which is to be turned and which is prevented from reverse rotation by a gravity actuated dog to provide means whereby the operating shaft on car doors may be rotated in one direction to loosen them and when the doors are loosened, the weight of the contents of the car is so great upon the car doors, that it is impossible for the operator to hold the operating shaft against rotation and the barrel being capable of rotating freely in one direction, will allow the handle to remain stationary and prevent injury to the operator, which is caused by the tools now employed in releasing car doors, wherein the handle will rotate in a reverse rotation and place the operator in a position liable to injury.

A further object of this invention is to provide a novel means of securing the barrel within the cylindrical head, whereby the barrel may be removed when desired and which will aid in forming bearing surfaces or raceways for the ball bearings which the barrel rotates upon.

A further object of this invention is to provide a novel means of supporting or carrying sleeves of smaller sizes than the barrel within the cylindrical head, whereby the sleeves may be placed within the barrel to accommodate operating shafts to car doors or nuts of various sizes.

SMITH, a

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 10*, 191?. Serial. No. 86,640.

. claimed.

For a complete understanding of my invention, reference is to be had to the following description and accompanying drawing, in which Figure 1 is a longitudinal sectional view, showing the barrel and part of the handle in side elevation,

Fig. 2 is a similar view angles to Fig. 1, showing the Fig. 3 is a sectional view 3-3 of Fig. 1, and

Fig. 4 is a similar view taken on the line 4- 1 of Fig. 2.

Referring in detail to the drawing, the numeral 1 indicates a handle, having a shank 2 of squared formation formed on one end thereof, which is provided with a hollow cylindrical head 3 formed on its end.

A cylindrical barrel 1, having a squared opening 5 is rotatably mounted in the head 3. Circular plates 6 are secured to'the ends of the head 3 by screws 7 to prevent acci dental displacement of the barrel 1 and are provided with circular openings 8 of larger size than the squared opening 5 of the barrel 1. Formed on the periphery of the barrel 4 and adjacent each end thereof, are shoulders 9. The shoulders 9, the plates 6 and the inner walls of the head 3 provide raceways to receive ball bearings 10, which allow the barrel 4: to rotate freely within the head 3. Formed on the barrel 4 and between the shoulders 9 is a plurality of rack teeth 11, arranged in circular formation to be engaged by a gravity actuated dog 12, which will be hereinafter more fully described.

The shank 2 is provided with a slot 13 which extends into the head 3, as indicated at 14 and a pair of inwardly extending shoulders 15 is formed on the walls of the shank 2 within the slot 13 and adjacent the head 3. A pin or bolt 16 extends through the shoulders 15 and shank 2 on which is journaled the dog 12. The dog 12 is journaled or pivoted ofi center to provide a gravity actuated dog, provided with its shorter end 17 reduced to engage the teeth 11 of the barrel 1. The operating shaft of taken at right barrel in plan, taken on the line the car door is inserted in the squared opening 5 of the barrel 4 or if designed to turn a nut, it may be inserted in the squared opening 5 and by turning the wrench in one direction, the gravity actuated dog 12 will engage the teeth 11 and cause the barrel 4 to turn in the same direction. Upon a reverse rotation of the handle, the longer end of the dog 12 will force the end 17 out of an engagement with the teeth 11 and will extend into the portion of the slot 1 1 and will free the barrel from the handle. lVhen opening car doors, the shaft is turned slightly in one direction to loosen them, and the weight upon the doors will cause the operating shaft to rotate in a reverse direction, and as soon as the handle is inclined in a reverse direc.

tion, the gravity actuated dog 12 will disengage the teeth 11 and allow the barrel 4; to rotate freely within the head 3.

The shank 2 is provided with a groove 18 which extends into the handle 1 and is adapted to receive a spring catch 19, which is secured to the shank 2, as illustrated at 20. The shank 2 is provided with an enlarged portion 21 for receiving a squared sleeve 22, having a flange or shoulder 23 formed on one end thereof. The sleeve 22 is of smaller dimension than the opening 5 of the barrel 4: and is. adapted to be inserted therein when desired to operate a shaft or nut of smaller size than the opening 5 of the barrel 4. A similar sleeve 2 L, but of smaller dimension than the sleeve 22 is adapted to be placed within the sleeve 22 when desiring to operate a shaft or nut of still smaller size. When the sleeves 22 and 24: are not in use, they are placed on the shank 2 and held thereon by the spring catch 19, which is provided with a lug 25 for engaging the end of the sleeve 24, to prevent the sleeves from becoming displaced or lost when not in use and will be readily accessible to the operator when the wrench is being used.

IVhile I have shown and described the preferred embodiment ofrmy invention, it will be understood that minor changes in construction, combination and arrangement of parts may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as claimed.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is A wrench comprising a shank having a slot opening out through one end thereof, a handle formed on the other end of the shank, a cylindrical head formed on the first mentioned end of said shank and having an opening in the wall thereof cooperating with the opening in the shank, a barrel journaled in said head, annular rings secured to each end of the head to retain the barrel therein, annular flanges formed on the barrel adjacent each end and adapted to cooperate with the rings to form raceways, ball bearings located in the raceways, said barrel provided with a squared opening to receive a nut, a plurality of rack teeth formed centrally of and on the periphery of the barrel, a pair of inwardly directed shoulders formed on the walls of the slot of the shank, a pin extending through the shoulders and the shank, a dog journaled on said pin adjacent one end thereof to provide one end of greater weight than the other for forming a gravity actuated dog, and the shorter end of said dog being reduced to engage the teeth to lock the barrel against rotation in one direction.

In testimony whereof I afliX my signature in presence of two witnesses.

WILLIAM B. SMITH. Witnesses:

E. A. TATE, H. A. JENSEN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for flve cents each, by addressing the "Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. 0. 

